COIMBATORE: As the summer intensifies the staff of the Coimbatore Forest Division are filling water troughs to ensure adequate water availability for wildlife so that thirsty animals don't venture into human habitations.
According to District Forest Officer (DFO) N Vengatesh Prabhu, "We have 58 water troughs across seven forest ranges in the Coimbatore Forest Division, of which 14 are solar-powered. Every four days, we fill water in 44 troughs using vehicles. As percolation ponds have dried up due to lack of rainfall over the past six months, we are also replenishing them."
The division has a variety of wild animals, including tiger, leopard, elephants, gaur, spotted deer, sambar deer, sloth bear, roaming over 700 square kilometers.
"We are closely monitoring the situation to prevent negative human-animal interactions. So far, there have been no major incidents of wild elephants straying out of forests, but we expect such movement to begin in May. Apart from water requirements for the wildlife, it will also help our staff to douse fire in case of forest fires," Prabhu said.
The DFO who took charge in the third week of February has introduced the M-STrIPES app to track patrolling in the Coimbatore division. The app has been in use in the Sathymangalam (Erode district) and Gudalur (Nilgiris) forest divisions.
"We can monitor how many kilometres and the places the field staff covered during foot patrol as we get GPS locations through the app once in 14 days. After monitoring this, we will strengthen the foot patrolling further wherever it is lacking," explained Prabhu.
Meanwhile, Valparai forest range officer G Venkatesh said they had carried out maintenance of check dams and percolation ponds in the Ulanthy forest range in Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) where natural streams are fast drying and only a little water is available for wildlife. Water is being filled in the ponds to ensure continuous availability for wildlife.
"This will help the wildlife to sustain within their habitat and minimise their movement in search of water and food outside the forest area," he stated.